deep water horizon oil rig breakage

deep water horizon drilling rig
11 fatalies, 36 injuries.
company- BP (british pretroleum)

Info

A drilling rig is an integrated system that drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface.

offshore-drilling-rigs.png

how an oil rig works

  • so oil rig drills thru the earth's crust to reach the oil well in deep in the earth's crust.
  • there are supposed to be blowout preventors installed in the oil rigs. blowout is when the oil rises to the opening of the rig. this may lead to reaction with air present in the atmosphere or reaction with water and natural gas present in the earth's crust.

what happened

  • explosion in the oil rig
  • 36 hrs later the rig sinks leading to oil leak
  • biggest oil leak in US history
  • 134 million gallons of Oil leaked
  • capped 3 months later.
  • The trustees assessed injuries to natural resources—such as fish, bottom-dwelling organisms, nearshore ecosystems, birds, sea turtles, and marine mammals—and lost recreation resulting from the spill.

what went wrong

  1. the project was already running six weeks behind schedule and some $58 million over budget. Everyone was under pressure to finish drilling and get the well into production.
  2. The oil well over which it was positioned was located on the seabed 4,993 feet (1,522 metres) below the surface and extended approximately 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) into the rock
  3. a surge of natural gas blasted through a concrete core recently installed by contractor Halliburton in order to seal the well for later use
  4. core were likely too weak to withstand the pressure because they were composed of a concrete mixture that used nitrogen gas to accelerate curing.

what can we learn

  • Find out and understand the worst things that can go wrong in your plant.
  • Learn to recognize warning signs of a potential major incident.
  • Make sure that you know your role in preventing a major incident if you observe any of its warning signs.
  • Know how to maintain equipment intended to protect against major incidents in your plant.
  • Familiarize yourself with critical procedures intended to protect against major incidents in your plant.
  • Know what to do after a major incident, both to protect yourself and others, and to minimize damage.
  • Ensure there are frequent emergency drills and practice of emergency procedures at your plant, so you are prepared enough to deal with accidents.

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